By Kamilla Singh
Vancouver: For over the past 44 years, the Italian-style restaurant Old Spaghetti Factory has become more than a just a place to dine – a place to create memories with the people you love or care about.
I have been to so many restaurants in Metro Vancouver as well as in Whistler and there are so many restaurants that I sort of like to go back but found out later that they no longer exit. Restaurant business is very challenging, your main sell at any restaurant is the service and the food.
The old spaghetti factory concept was actually a knock off of a restaurant in San Francisco. Started by Dussin family, but the Pulos family bought the concept to Canada and opened the first restaurant at Gas town. The most antique is definitely the trolley car that sits in the front of the restaurant and the strained glass which originated from the Queens Carriage.
So you can see there is a lot of history to this eatery, but what matters the most are the customers that come in time after time to enjoy their creation of pastas, spaghetti. If you are not the fan of Italian pastas, there are plenty of other items for your taste buds. This is a very user friendly place, its kids friendly.
I have been to this restaurant many times and every time I go there, I never order the same dishes that I had previously eaten as they are very creative and always there are new addition on their menu, not to say that the old item disappear, they keep adding on the items that people cherish. I still have my favorite on the menu, it’s called spicy Thai spaghetti.
As soon as you are seated the first thing that arrives on your table is warm home made sourdough bread with two different kind of cream cheese, and ceaser salad with lots of croutons, and your main course, which for me was spicy Thai spaghetti with prawns, including tea or coffee and ice-cream to go with it. All of the above is less than $15:00. I don’t know how they do it, but they really give a deal for people who are on a budget, people like me who don’t cook at home all , eat out 3 to 4 times a week have to find a place which is affordable on my pocketbook. Food is so good, the amount of food they offer you is plenty to eat and take the left over home for lunch for next day. The sauce is so succulent and flavorful. I love all their food on the menu. Plus their service is outstanding.
When asked where did the name came from: Andrew Buckley the marketing and promotions manager said,” I can’t speak directly to where the name Old Spaghetti factory was developed because the people who originally created the restaurant in the late 60s have long been disassociated with the concept, however, the original conceptual plan shed some light on the possible naming of the restaurant. Originally owned by Amy, Lee and Peter Pulos, the old Spaghetti factory concept was created around the idea of providing inexpensive pasta and unique warehouse setting filled with antiques.
“We are constantly changing ingredients in menu items to ensure that we are providing the freshest and highest quality ingredients for our guests. There are two head office individuals who work full time on improving our food product and ensure that that the cost of the food remains as low as possible. The entire concept is driven by our high standards and our concentration on providing guests with extremely reasonable prices., we also review our menu options a couple of times a year to make sure that our menu is following the ebbs and flows of the food industry” he added.
“Our signature dish is our Spaghetti with browned butter and Mizithra cheese. For a long time the old Spaghetti Factory was the only place you would find Mizithra cheese is Canada. It is a traditional Greek cheese produced from the whey of sheep milk. The texture is dry and the flavor is salty. The old spaghetti factory helped popularize this item in Canada and it has become a more common cheese in specific markets. He said.
“ Our differentiator has always been our all-inclusive menu. Every entrée comes with bread, soup or salad, coffee or tea and ice cream. You can’t find that anywhere else in Vancouver. It is concept that has worked for over 45 years and our guests absolutely love it.
Located at 53 Water Street in Vancouver, give them a call at 604-684-1288, reservation is highly recommended. They also have four other locations in Metro Vancouver area. They Open for lunch and dinner.
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